For companies interested in purchasing a Surface Hub, Microsoft has introduced a "Try and Buy" program which allows resellers to let customers test the device for 30 days before committing to buy. The program will go live this winter in the US and Europe. Users can test up to five of the 55- or 84-inch devices before making a purchase decision.

Microsoft is also working on a program that will let users work with resellers to implement custom installations of the Surface Hub dubbed "Value Added Distributors for Opportunity Resellers" or VADOR. For example: customers and resellers can design distinct audio/visual setups for large conference rooms or customers can work with resellers to provide continuous training for their respective workforces. The intent is for customers to work with one specific partner to buy, install, train employees, and customize use cases for the Surface Hub, according to Julia Atalla, Senior Director of Surface Commercial Marketing at Microsoft.

New Features

The Surface Hub will now include inking support across Word, Excel, and PowerPoint as well as support for simultaneous Pen and Touch. Microsoft's PowerBI, OneDrive, and Photos applications will now be pre-loaded onto every Surface Hub.

Microsoft said it is ramping up sales of the $8,999, 55-inch, full HD model and the $21,999, 84-inch, 4K model. Today's announcement comes at an important time for the manufacturer. Last month, Google introduced its own collaboration kiosk—Google Jamboard—which is built on Google's G Suite collaboration platform.

Jamboard is an unabashed Microsoft Surface Hub competitor; however, Jamboard is also only $6,000 and it comes standard with 55-inch 4K monitor. This means Microsoft will be facing stiff competition for customers who haven't tied themselves to the Windows ecosystem. Jamboard is scheduled to be released at some point in 2017.

What Is the Surface Hub?

For those who are still wondering why someone would dish out $8,999 for a large-format tablet, the Surface Hub is a revolutionary category-creating device that will change the way your staffers work. Users are able to do everything from project a laptop screen onto the Hub whilemaking permanent marks and edits to the document, to direct on-screen video annotation, to creating custom apps for large-format viewing and collaboration.

Get Our Best Stories!

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.